- After being framed for the murder of the Empress he swore to protect, a once trusted bodyguard with supernatural abilities is forced to become a masked assassin in order to seek revenge on those who conspired against him.
- In the plague ridden land of Gristol, Empress Kaldwin is left dead by a hired assassin, and her daughter kidnapped. Though an assassin did the dirty work, to the non witnessed it was her protector, Corvo Attano. Corvo is left to rot in prison only to escape with the help of revolutionaries and a god known as the Outsider. It is up to him to rescue the Empress's daughter and kill her conspirators, leaving a glorious new empire for the princess or a rugged hell hole dependent upon his choices.—SemescoHunter
- On the island of gristol, a rat sickness plagues the city Dunwall. The empress sends her royal protector to search the empire for answers. When the protector, known as Corvo returns, the empress is assassinated and her daughter kidnapped. Corvo is framed and sentenced to prison. It is now up to Corvo to escape prison, clear his name, and put the rightful heir to the throne.
- In the steampunk city of Dunwall in 1837, a rat plague is ravaging the city. Corvo Attano, the Royal Bodyguard to Empress Jessamine Kaldwin returns from across the Empire to bring aid, instead he brings news that the other isles intend to wall off Dunwall to prevent the plague spreading. The Empress is attacked by masked assassins, Corvo makes a valiant attempt to protect her, yet he is subdued by the supernatural powers of one as their leader, Daud, kills the Empress and abducts her daughter Emily. The Royal Spymaster, Hiram Burrows, accuses Corvo of the crime and Corvo is sent to Coldridge Prison.
After six months of imprisonment, Corvo is subject to torture to sign a false confession to the crime, during the latest session Burrows admits he orchestrated to have the Empress killed and frame Corvo. Back in his cell a guard slips Corvo a key and a letter from a supposed friend, Corvo escapes his cell and the prison eluding his execution due the next day. In the sewers Corvo finds more letters from his benefactors and custom made equipment, at the exit of the sewers is Samuel Beechworth, a former Navy man acting as a boatman to the benefactors.
He takes Corvo to a quarantined district where his benefactors are residing in a pub, the Hound Pits. The benefactors are the Loyalists, people loyal to the Kaldwin family and they intend to rescue Emily and restore her rightful position to the throne. Comprising of discharged Navy Admiral Farley Havelock, aristocrat Lord Treavor Pendelton, scientist Piero Joplin and a selection of servants, Lydia Brooklaine, Wallace Higgins, Callista Curnow and Cecilia.
The Loyalists plot is to overthrow the corrupt reign of Lord Regent Burrows, removing key figures of his government, rescuing Emily and dethroning Burrows, putting Emily to power and clearing Corvo's name. Corvo is given a place to sleep in the pub and he dreams of an otherworldly being known as the Outsider, a neutral figure offering magic to whomever he chooses and watching how they use them, branding Corvo's left hand with his mark.
Corvo's first target is High Overseer Thaddeus Campbell, the overseers are the empire's religious order and Campbell is their corrupt leader. Havelock explains that a key Loyalist is an overseer now in their custody, Teague Martin, Corvo is to release him. As Corvo leaves, Callista asks him to protect her uncle, Captain Geoff Curnow of the City Watch. Samuel takes Corvo to the Distillery District which is gang territory, Samuel gives details on the surroundings such the City Watch's security devices and a local resident Granny Rags, a former aristocrat, now a poor occultist. Martin is saved from his bonds and Corvo infiltrates the High Overseer's Office where Campbell is meeting with Geoff. Corvo/the player can choose to save Geoff from a poisoning attempt, one decision of which'll lead to Campbell leading Geoff to a more discreet location, then save Geoff if they act fast enough. As for Campbell, Corvo can either kill him or search for information regarding a branding method, the mark of the heretic is branded onto the face of order's members that break the order's strictures and Campbell is well deserving of such punishment, those who are branded are cast out of society. Whatever Corvo's choices, the deed is done and Samuel takes him back to the Hound Pits.
Back at the pub, Havelock receives word that Martin is headed to them and congratulates Corvo on his efforts, Corvo retires to his room. The next day Corvo is sent to investigate a disturbance in the sewers, there are plague victims, Weepers, humans that have lost their reason and attack indiscriminately. Corvo subdues them, either though lethal or non-lethal means, then is assigned his next mission, the removal of Burrows parliament allies, twins Morgan and Custis, Lord Pendleton's brothers. Samuel takes Corvo back to the Distillery District, Emily is being held in a brothel, The Golden Cat, plus, he advises Corvo meet with a local bootlegger and gang boss, Slackjaw. Slackjaw offers Corvo an optional assignment that plays to both their interests, first Corvo infiltrates the apartment of a doctor to find a missing scout, he is dead and an audio recording is found in his possession. Corvo returns it to Slackjaw, it explains that someone wishes to eliminate Slackjaw and usurp his gang, the Bottle Street Gang, the scout is killed before he can divulge the identity. Slackjaw offers another assignment in exchange for removing the Pendleton twins himself non-lethally, Corvo must find an art dealer at the Golden Cat and retrieve the combination to his safe.
Corvo makes it to the Golden Cat, where he can either kill the Pendletons or seize the combination and return it Slackjaw. If the latter, Slackjaw will explain his method, the Pendletons run an underground mine where slaves work, Slackjaw will abduct the twins, shave their heads, cut out their tongues and put them in their mines. Corvo rescues Emily from the brothel and they head back to the pub, Emily is greeted royally and Corvo is praised further, however he cannot rest as another mission is given, to abduct the Royal Physician, Anton Sokolov.
Corvo is taken to Kaldwin's Bridge, he finds and apprehends Sokolov and returns him to the pub and is finally granted a night's rest. The next day Corvo attends Sokolov's interrogation, Sokolov can either be coerced into revealing the needed information or he can be bought with a particular brandy, he'll explain that the Lord Regent gets financial backing from his mistress, Lady Boyle, she is hosting a party that night at her manor. Corvo infiltrates the party with ease as all the guests are wearing masks as per the party's theme. But finding the target is complicated, there are three Boyle sister's, all classed as "Lady", and the correct target varies per playthrough. A guest happens to be an admirer of the target and will give her identity in exchange for bringing her to him alive. Whichever one is the correct one the same principle applies, kill or non-lethal. Corvo leaves yet another scene.
Corvo is granted his final mission, the fate of Lord Regent Burrows. Samuel takes Corvo to Dunwall Tower where he was falsely implicated to commit one final deed, Samuel mentions the propaganda machine where all public announcements are broadcast, should Corvo head there the broadcaster will offer an interesting tidbit, Burrows keeps a recording in his safe that would ruin him should it be broadcast, Corvo can choose to do this and it will reveal scandalous information, Burrows was the one who bought the plague to Dunwall, as a method of eradicating the poor, but the rats eluded capture and spread at an alarming rate, he knew that the Empress would investigate and uncover the truth and orchestrated her assassination, along with assuming power and quarantined districts, yet it doesn't mention framing Corvo. Burrows is arrested on the spot. Whatever Burrows fate, Corvo's work is done.
Corvo returns to the Hound Pits a hero and is celebrated, he takes a drink and is overcome with illness, he collapses in his room. In between bouts of consciousness Corvo can hear the Loyalists talking, they poisoned his drink and leave Samuel to dispose of the body, Samuel will tell Corvo that he only used half the poison out of loyalty to him, he leaves the body on a raft bound for the Flooded District. The masked assassins capture Corvo and take him to Daud, he leaves Corvo in confinement until he can claim his bounty from now Lord Regent Havelock. Corvo escapes and navigates the flooded district up to the assassin's hideout where Daud is recording his memoirs. He expects Corvo to escape and kill him for the Empress' murder along with remorse over her death, Corvo can choose to fight or leave him be, not even alarming the assassins. If Corvo performed the side quests for both Granny Rags and Slackjaw, he can find them in the sewer where the former is about to cook the latter in a cauldron, and decide which to side with. Eventually, Corvo makes it to an apartment across from the Hound Pits where Cecilia is hiding, she explains that Corvo was poisoned, Lydia and Wallace were killed to cover the Loyalists tracks, Callista also if Corvo killed many people throughout the game, if Corvo made it through the game without causing much or any loss of life she is spared out of Havelock's gratitude to her uncle. The City Watch has seized the pub, Corvo finds a note from Havelock to the City Watch, he and his associates would claim to have rescued Emily and apprehended Corvo, Joplin and Sokolov are to be tried on a false indictment of collaboration with Corvo. Corvo can find Emily' whereabouts from Callista, she's been taken to a recently constructed lighthouse on Kingsparrow Island and a flare gun is positioned to signal Samuel.
Corvo can choose to aid Joplin and Sokolov, a blueprint can be found on the premises of a powerful anti-personnel device which can be set to stun or kill and defeat the City Watch on site. Samuel is signaled and he takes Corvo on one last boat trip to the lighthouse. Depending on Corvo's actions the final mission can differ. If he assumed a clean, non-lethal run, there'll be nice weather at the lighthouse and Samuel will praise Corvo on his restraint and professionalism, Corvo ascends to the top of the lighthouse where Havelock has killed Pendleton and Martin to hide the truth of their actions and expressing shame over own his behavior, his diary reveals a suspicion that Corvo is in fact Emily's biological father, which is true. Corvo attains a key to Emily's room and releases her.
In this ending Emily takes the throne and Corvo stays by her side all his life as a bodyguard, seeing him a positive role model, Emily ushers in a golden age, Joplin and Sokolov form a partnership and cure the plague, Callista is reunited with her uncle, Samuel is pulling drinks at the Hound Pits and Emily the First and Wise will eventually lay Corvo down to rest next to her mother.
If Corvo adopted an aggressive, violent run, there is a storm at the lighthouse, Samuel scolds Corvo for his brutishness. The Loyalists have turned on each other and Corvo can choose to fight them, at the top Havelock is standing at a ledge holding Emily hostage, he'll fall over by some means and Corvo can save Emily with plenty of time. If she's saved she becomes a tyrant, following Corvo's example, Samuel is killed at sea and crime is rampant in Dunwall.
If she's left to die, Dunwall falls apart without leadership, the plague destroys the city and chaos consumes all and Corvo leaves Dunwall.
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